#83 - Overcoming Adversity In Business, Infertility & Losing Your Home With Brian Mazza

Brian Mazza has been an entrepreneur for the majority of his life. In the last decade, he built a series of very successful restaurants before transitioning out of the hospitality industry and into the fitness space. He recently completed a 50 mile ultramarathon to raise money for IVF treatments In today’s episode, we’ll hear all about the things Brian has overcome in the recent years, throughout his life and what has contributed to his success.

From a young age, Brian has always been a competitive athlete. As the episode begins, he discusses his experience playing soccer on a scholarship at the University of Rhode Island. He began to lose passion for the sport as time went on, leading him to quit his senior year. Then, Brian tells the story of how he became involved in the hospitality industry, beginning working as a guest bartender for Tiger Woods’ mistress in the Hamptons.  He began to realize that if he could make a name for himself, he had the potential to be very successful in the nightlife industry. At 21 years old, his philosophy was to work hard and never say no to an opportunity. This experience led him to open multiple businesses alongside the owner of the nightclub.

Brian stresses that if you go into a business thinking you know everything, you’re setting yourself up for failure. However, failure isn’t always a bad thing as there is often a lesson to be learned from it. Ego is one of the worst companions to business. Brian found owning restaurants wasn’t the best fit for him.

Next, Brian discusses his entrance into the fitness industry. Boutique fitness really started to take off in New York, which brought Brian back to his competitive college soccer days. An opportunity led him to appear on the cover on Men’s Health. He was drawn to the fitness world and saw it the perfect exit out of hospitality. He made a promise to himself to quit drinking, and hasn’t looked back since. He explains just a few of the ways this decision made a positive impact on his life. Lifestyle choices are top down, which is why it’s so important to surround yourself with  people who share your goals and mindset.

Last year, Brian ran an ultramarathon to raise money for people who can’t afford infertility options such as IVF. This is a subject close to home for Brian, since he and his wife went through fertility issues. Brian points out the stigma in regards to men speaking with their friends about these types of issues like women do. Now, he speaks openly about the experience and the success they had with it - ultimately having two beautiful children. Brian raised $81,000 for infertility during his 50-mile ultramarathon fundraiser. The idea came to him during the pandemic. After seeing so many businesses being shut down and hearing that many couples were unable to carry on with IVF procedures, he saw an opportunity to make a difference. With the money raised, Brian and his wife were able to pay for three separate families to undergo IVF.

Right before the pandemic, Brian’s family’s house burned down. As he tells the story, he stresses that life is precious and anything could happen. Through the adversity, you have to keep going and get back to normalcy. Getting back to a routine is the best step to move forward. Finally, they discuss Brian’s lifestyle training business HPLT. Brian believes everyone is a high performer, but not everyone knows they have that in them. The mission behind HPLT is to light that spark within by putting people in situations and communities which help them realize their potential. In closing, Brian states that winning is about your mindset, body and soul - and is something only you can accomplish.

Timestamps:

00:01 - Nick introduces today’s episode with Brian Mazza.

01:38 - Introduction to The Bare Performance Podcast.

5:05 - Brian’s experience playing D1 collegiate soccer.

13:15 - How Brian became involved in hospitality.

22:40 - The problem with ego in business.

27:25 - How Brian evolved out of hospitality and into the fitness space.

32:48 - Brian’s decision to quit drinking.

38:13 - Destigmatizing infertility.

45:05 - Brian’s ultramarathon fundraiser.

50:10 - The story of Brian’s family’s house fire.

1:00:00 - The mission behind Brian’s business, HPLT.

1:04:48 - Closing words.

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Links:

Learn more about Nick Bare on his website.

Connect with Nick Bare on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube.

Learn more about Bare Performance Nutrition.

Learn more about Brian Mazza.